Idacorp IDA

NYSE IDA

$136.20 -1.69 (-1.23%)

As of: Sep 9, 2026 · 3:59 PM EDT

Key Stats

Market Cap7.85 Bn

P/E22.32

P/S4.36

Div. Yield2.46

Total Debt (Qtr)3.79 Bn

Add ratio to table…

About

IDACORP, Inc. is a holding company whose principal operating subsidiary is Idaho Power, an electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution, sale, and purchase of electric energy and capacity. Idaho Power serves approximately 664,000 retail customers in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon as of December 31, 2025, covering a service area of about 24,000 square miles with an estimated population of 1.4 million. The company is regulated by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, the Oregon Public Utility Commission, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. IDACORP’s other notable subsidiaries include IFS, which invests in affordable housing and real estate tax credit projects, and Ida-West, an operator of small PURPA-qualifying hydropower generation projects. Idaho Power's utility operations constitute nearly all of IDACORP's current business activities.

IDACORP generates revenue primarily through Idaho Power's sale of electricity to retail and wholesale customers and the provision of transmission service. Retail revenues are derived from residential, commercial, industrial, and irrigation customer classes, with residential sales making up the largest share. Wholesale energy sales occur when Idaho Power sells excess generation into the market, while transmission wheeling-related revenues come from providing transmission services under its FERC-approved Open Access Transmission Tariff. Additional revenue streams include energy efficiency program revenues and other miscellaneous sources. In 2025, total electric utility operating revenues reached $1,809,609,000, driven largely by retail energy sales which totaled 16,177,000 MWh. The company also benefits from long-term power purchase agreements and participates in the Western Energy Imbalance Market to optimize generation and purchasing decisions.

The company operates through the following segments:

Idaho Power: This segment encompasses the generation, transmission, distribution, sale, and purchase of electric energy and capacity. Idaho Power operates 17 hydropower projects on the Snake River and its tributaries with a total nameplate capacity of 1,818 MW. It also co-owns the Jim Bridger and North Valmy thermal plants and owns natural gas-fired plants including Langley Gulch, Danskin, and Bennett Mountain. The segment serves retail customers in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon and participates in wholesale energy and transmission markets.
IFS: IDACORP Financial Services, Inc. invests in real estate tax credit projects, such as affordable housing developments, which generate returns through federal and state tax credits and accelerated tax depreciation benefits. At December 31, 2025, the unamortized amount of IFS’s portfolio was approximately $50 million. IFS generated tax credits of $7.8 million in 2025 and received distributions that reduced IDACORP's income tax expense by $0.7 million in the same year.
Ida-West: Ida-West Energy Company operates and has a 50 percent ownership interest in nine hydropower projects with a total nameplate capacity of 44 MW. Four of these projects are located in Idaho and five are in northern California. All nine projects are qualifying facilities under PURPA, and Idaho Power purchases all of the power generated by Ida-West’s four Idaho hydropower projects. In 2025, Idaho Power paid approximately $9 million for this power.

IDACORP, through its Idaho Power subsidiary, holds a regulated monopoly position in its service area for the delivery of electricity, though it faces competition from alternative energy sources and fuel providers. The company competes with natural gas providers for space and water heating applications and is impacted by customer-owned solar and other distributed generation systems that can reduce demand for its electricity. Idaho Power differentiates itself through its diversified generation portfolio, which includes hydropower, thermal, and natural gas resources, and its active participation in regional energy markets like the Western EIM. Its long-term resource planning and investments in transmission infrastructure such as the Boardman-to-Hemingway and Southwest Intertie Project-North enhance its ability to integrate renewable energy and maintain grid reliability.

Idaho Power provides electric utility service to approximately 561,000 residential customers, along with commercial and industrial clients in food processing, electronics, general manufacturing, agriculture, health care, government, education, and information technology. The company also serves irrigation customers who use electricity to operate irrigation pumps during the agricultural growing season. While specific large customer names are not disclosed in the filing, the utility's customer base spans municipal, cooperative, and institutional entities across its 24,000-square-mile service area in Idaho and Oregon. Idaho Power holds franchises in 69 cities in Idaho and 9 cities in Oregon and has certificates to serve all or part of 25 counties in Idaho and 3 counties in Oregon.

Investment Thesis

▲ Bull case

IDACORP's strategic focus on large industrial customers like Micron and Meta positions it to capture significant, long-term revenue growth that the market may be underestimating, as these projects are in advanced stages of development with contractual safeguards such as take-or-pay provisions and customized pricing terms ensuring stable cash flows despite construction timelines; this is reinforced by the company's ability to serve new load without shifting costs to existing customers through its growth-pays-for-growth regulatory model in Idaho, which has been codified by recent legislation establishing a nine-month PUC approval deadline, reducing regulatory uncertainty and accelerating revenue recognition from new contracts. The ramp-up in industrial energy sales, which grew 5.7% year-over-year in Q1, is not merely a temporary surge but the beginning of a sustained multi-year inflection point driven by the semiconductor and data center expansion in its service area, with Micron's first fab nearing commissioning and Meta's data center in testing stages, signaling that revenue contributions from these anchors will begin to meaningfully offset rising depreciation and interest expenses from infrastructure build-out sooner than current guidance implies. Furthermore, the company's proactive resource planning—including the 2026–2032 RFP targeting at least 200 MW of capacity deficit and its own generation projects like the Bennett Mountain gas plant and Peregrine project—demonstrates a disciplined approach to meeting demand that avoids overbuilding while preserving optionality, and the fact that Idaho Power intends to own a significant share of RFP-won assets (historically ~50%) suggests upside to rate base growth beyond the current CapEx forecast, which excludes any RFP-related investments, creating a potential stealth catalyst for earnings acceleration in 2029–2030 as these resources come online.
IDACORP's affordability advantage—rates 20% to 30% below national average and rising at half the pace of the CPI over the past decade—provides a durable competitive moat that is underappreciated in the current market valuation, as this cost leadership is not accidental but structurally embedded in its hydropower-heavy generation mix, efficient operational model, and regulatory framework that incentivizes cost discipline while allowing growth to fund itself, thereby protecting both customer satisfaction and shareholder returns during periods of elevated CapEx; this affordability is critical in retaining political and regulatory support for large load projects, as evidenced by the lack of pushback on serving Micron and Meta despite their scale, and it reduces the risk of adverse regulatory outcomes in future rate cases, which the company is opportunistically avoiding by leveraging large load revenues to offset cost pressures instead of seeking frequent rate relief. The company's success in maintaining low rates while investing heavily in wildfire mitigation, transmission (B2H, SWIFT North, Gateway West), and storage (250 MW batteries online this quarter, plus 125 MW third-party solar later this year) shows that it can execute a complex infrastructure upgrade without triggering customer backlash or rate shock, a rare combination in the utility sector that supports sustained customer growth of 2.3% and industrial load expansion, which in turn fuels a virtuous cycle of increasing sales, improving load factor, and enhancing returns on new capital investments—dynamics that are not fully reflected in the current earnings guidance range of $6.25 to $6.45, which assumes normal weather and does not fully capture the upside from persistent industrial demand or potential FCA over-collections during hotter-than-expected summers.
The market may be overlooking the strengthening of IDACORP's credit profile as a direct result of its disciplined financing strategy and improving operational performance, particularly the reduced reliance on ADITC amortization for earnings support—a signal of underlying financial strength—as evidenced by Q1 2026 ADITC usage of $6.3 million versus $19.3 million in Q1 2025, reflecting less need for regulatory earnings support despite higher year-end book equity, which indicates that core operating performance is improving sufficiently to approach the Idaho ROE floor without crutches, a trend that, if sustained, could lead to upward pressure on credit metrics over time; this is especially relevant given Moody's recent downgrade to Baa2 for Idaho Power, which was based on sector benchmarks and a stable outlook, meaning the downgrade may already be priced in, and any improvement in CFO pre-working-capital to debt (currently targeted at 13–15% zone via balanced debt/equity financing) could trigger a rebound, especially as large load revenues begin to scale and provide internally generated cash flow to fund CapEx, reducing reliance on external financing and improving credit ratios organically—a dynamic that aligns with management's long-term goal of maintaining a 50/50 capital structure while strengthening the balance sheet through ATM proceeds and retained earnings, with over $750 million already settled or executed via forward sales, positioning the company to fund future growth without compromising credit quality.

IDACORP's strategic focus on large industrial customers like Micron and Meta positions it to capture significant, long-term revenue growth that the market may be underestimating, as these projects are in advanced stages of development with contractual safeguards such as take-or-pay provisions and customized pricing terms ensuring stable cash flows despite construction timelines; this is reinforced by the company's ability to serve new load without shifting costs to existing customers through its growth-pays-for-growth regulatory model in Idaho, which has been codified by recent legislation establishing a nine-month PUC approval deadline, reducing regulatory uncertainty and accelerating revenue recognition from new contracts. The ramp-up in industrial energy sales, which grew 5.7% year-over-year in Q1, is not merely a temporary surge but the beginning of a sustained multi-year inflection point driven by the semiconductor and data center expansion in its service area, with Micron's first fab nearing commissioning and Meta's data center in testing stages, signaling that revenue contributions from these anchors will begin to meaningfully offset rising depreciation and interest expenses from infrastructure build-out sooner than current guidance implies. Furthermore, the company's proactive resource planning—including the 2026–2032 RFP targeting at least 200 MW of capacity deficit and its own generation projects like the Bennett Mountain gas plant and Peregrine project—demonstrates a disciplined approach to meeting demand that avoids overbuilding while preserving optionality, and the fact that Idaho Power intends to own a significant share of RFP-won assets (historically ~50%) suggests upside to rate base growth beyond the current CapEx forecast, which excludes any RFP-related investments, creating a potential stealth catalyst for earnings acceleration in 2029–2030 as these resources come online.
IDACORP's affordability advantage—rates 20% to 30% below national average and rising at half the pace of the CPI over the past decade—provides a durable competitive moat that is underappreciated in the current market valuation, as this cost leadership is not accidental but structurally embedded in its hydropower-heavy generation mix, efficient operational model, and regulatory framework that incentivizes cost discipline while allowing growth to fund itself, thereby protecting both customer satisfaction and shareholder returns during periods of elevated CapEx; this affordability is critical in retaining political and regulatory support for large load projects, as evidenced by the lack of pushback on serving Micron and Meta despite their scale, and it reduces the risk of adverse regulatory outcomes in future rate cases, which the company is opportunistically avoiding by leveraging large load revenues to offset cost pressures instead of seeking frequent rate relief. The company's success in maintaining low rates while investing heavily in wildfire mitigation, transmission (B2H, SWIFT North, Gateway West), and storage (250 MW batteries online this quarter, plus 125 MW third-party solar later this year) shows that it can execute a complex infrastructure upgrade without triggering customer backlash or rate shock, a rare combination in the utility sector that supports sustained customer growth of 2.3% and industrial load expansion, which in turn fuels a virtuous cycle of increasing sales, improving load factor, and enhancing returns on new capital investments—dynamics that are not fully reflected in the current earnings guidance range of $6.25 to $6.45, which assumes normal weather and does not fully capture the upside from persistent industrial demand or potential FCA over-collections during hotter-than-expected summers.
The market may be overlooking the strengthening of IDACORP's credit profile as a direct result of its disciplined financing strategy and improving operational performance, particularly the reduced reliance on ADITC amortization for earnings support—a signal of underlying financial strength—as evidenced by Q1 2026 ADITC usage of $6.3 million versus $19.3 million in Q1 2025, reflecting less need for regulatory earnings support despite higher year-end book equity, which indicates that core operating performance is improving sufficiently to approach the Idaho ROE floor without crutches, a trend that, if sustained, could lead to upward pressure on credit metrics over time; this is especially relevant given Moody's recent downgrade to Baa2 for Idaho Power, which was based on sector benchmarks and a stable outlook, meaning the downgrade may already be priced in, and any improvement in CFO pre-working-capital to debt (currently targeted at 13–15% zone via balanced debt/equity financing) could trigger a rebound, especially as large load revenues begin to scale and provide internally generated cash flow to fund CapEx, reducing reliance on external financing and improving credit ratios organically—a dynamic that aligns with management's long-term goal of maintaining a 50/50 capital structure while strengthening the balance sheet through ATM proceeds and retained earnings, with over $750 million already settled or executed via forward sales, positioning the company to fund future growth without compromising credit quality.

▼ Bear case

IDACORP's earnings guidance of $6.25 to $6.45 for 2026 may be overly optimistic given the persistent headwind from declining ADITC amortization, which reduced Q1 2026 benefits by $13 million year-over-year and is expected to remain below $30 million for the full year—a significant drop from the $40 million used in 2025—raising concerns that the company's underlying earnings power is weaker than reported, as this mechanism has historically been a critical bridge to achieving its ROE target, and the reduced reliance on it, while framed as a sign of strength, could instead reflect diminishing tax credit availability or lower tax appetite due to changing federal legislation, with management acknowledging "diminishing availability of ITCs in the future," suggesting that the current tailwind from tax credits is not sustainable and may leave a structural gap in earnings that must be filled by operational improvements that have yet to materialize at scale, particularly as the company faces rising depreciation and interest expenses from its aggressive CapEx cycle of $1.3–1.5 billion in 2026 alone.
Despite management's optimism about the industrial load pipeline, there are material risks in the execution and timing of large customer projects that are not being adequately addressed, as evidenced by the ongoing negotiations for Micron Fab 2's ESA with no clear timeline for signing or implementation, and the admission that many large load inquiries remain confidential and subject to drop-offs, meaning the much-touted 4,000 MW queue may include a significant portion of speculative or non-binding interest that never materializes into firm contracts, especially given the complexity of serving ultra-large loads like semiconductor fabs and data centers, which require precise coordination of transmission upgrades, generation resources, and contractual terms—all of which are subject to regulatory approval, supply chain delays, and customer-side execution risks; furthermore, the company's reliance on take-or-pay provisions and upfront payments to protect existing customers may not fully insulate it from revenue volatility if customers delay ramp-up or fail to reach expected utilization levels, a risk amplified by the fact that Idaho Power does not count prospective load in its 8.3% IRP growth rate until a "sizable financial commitment or signed contract" is in place, creating a lag between pipeline excitement and actual revenue recognition that could leave CapEx investments underutilized in the near term.
IDACORP's ambitious transmission and generation expansion plans—including B2H (late 2027), SWIFT North (2028), Gateway West (2028), and new gas plants extending to 2030—carry substantial execution risk that is underappreciated in the current outlook, as these projects are exposed to permitting delays, supply chain constraints, labor shortages, and potential cost overruns, particularly given the company's admission that it does not assume any win rate in the 2026–2032 RFP and only includes CapEx for projects "when we know it is going to happen," suggesting that the current CapEx forecast of $1.3–1.5 billion for 2026 may be significantly exceeded if RFP wins or other resource needs materialize, requiring additional financing that could disrupt the targeted 50/50 capital structure and increase financial leverage at a time when interest rates remain elevated and credit metrics are already under pressure, with Moody's citing a weaker CFO pre-working-capital to debt ratio as a rationale for the Baa2 downgrade, a metric that may deteriorate further if external financing needs rise due to delayed large load revenues or cost overruns on transmission projects, which are described as progressing quickly but still face hurdles like final BLM authorization for SWIFT North and ongoing CPCN efforts for Gateway West, leaving the timeline for critical infrastructure completion vulnerable to slippage that could jeopardize the company's ability to serve growing load reliably and on schedule.

IDACORP's earnings guidance of $6.25 to $6.45 for 2026 may be overly optimistic given the persistent headwind from declining ADITC amortization, which reduced Q1 2026 benefits by $13 million year-over-year and is expected to remain below $30 million for the full year—a significant drop from the $40 million used in 2025—raising concerns that the company's underlying earnings power is weaker than reported, as this mechanism has historically been a critical bridge to achieving its ROE target, and the reduced reliance on it, while framed as a sign of strength, could instead reflect diminishing tax credit availability or lower tax appetite due to changing federal legislation, with management acknowledging "diminishing availability of ITCs in the future," suggesting that the current tailwind from tax credits is not sustainable and may leave a structural gap in earnings that must be filled by operational improvements that have yet to materialize at scale, particularly as the company faces rising depreciation and interest expenses from its aggressive CapEx cycle of $1.3–1.5 billion in 2026 alone.
Despite management's optimism about the industrial load pipeline, there are material risks in the execution and timing of large customer projects that are not being adequately addressed, as evidenced by the ongoing negotiations for Micron Fab 2's ESA with no clear timeline for signing or implementation, and the admission that many large load inquiries remain confidential and subject to drop-offs, meaning the much-touted 4,000 MW queue may include a significant portion of speculative or non-binding interest that never materializes into firm contracts, especially given the complexity of serving ultra-large loads like semiconductor fabs and data centers, which require precise coordination of transmission upgrades, generation resources, and contractual terms—all of which are subject to regulatory approval, supply chain delays, and customer-side execution risks; furthermore, the company's reliance on take-or-pay provisions and upfront payments to protect existing customers may not fully insulate it from revenue volatility if customers delay ramp-up or fail to reach expected utilization levels, a risk amplified by the fact that Idaho Power does not count prospective load in its 8.3% IRP growth rate until a "sizable financial commitment or signed contract" is in place, creating a lag between pipeline excitement and actual revenue recognition that could leave CapEx investments underutilized in the near term.
IDACORP's ambitious transmission and generation expansion plans—including B2H (late 2027), SWIFT North (2028), Gateway West (2028), and new gas plants extending to 2030—carry substantial execution risk that is underappreciated in the current outlook, as these projects are exposed to permitting delays, supply chain constraints, labor shortages, and potential cost overruns, particularly given the company's admission that it does not assume any win rate in the 2026–2032 RFP and only includes CapEx for projects "when we know it is going to happen," suggesting that the current CapEx forecast of $1.3–1.5 billion for 2026 may be significantly exceeded if RFP wins or other resource needs materialize, requiring additional financing that could disrupt the targeted 50/50 capital structure and increase financial leverage at a time when interest rates remain elevated and credit metrics are already under pressure, with Moody's citing a weaker CFO pre-working-capital to debt ratio as a rationale for the Baa2 downgrade, a metric that may deteriorate further if external financing needs rise due to delayed large load revenues or cost overruns on transmission projects, which are described as progressing quickly but still face hurdles like final BLM authorization for SWIFT North and ongoing CPCN efforts for Gateway West, leaving the timeline for critical infrastructure completion vulnerable to slippage that could jeopardize the company's ability to serve growing load reliably and on schedule.

Segments Breakdown of Revenue (2017)

Peer group

Peer Comparison

Companies in the Regulated Electric Utilities

S.No.	Ticker	Company	match	Market Cap	P/E	P/S	Total Debt (Qtr)
1	ENIC	Enel Chile S.A.	primary	307.79 Bn	109.96	33.37	-
2	D	Dominion Energy, Inc	primary	57.93 Bn	24.36	3.20	53.22 Bn
3	XEL	Xcel Energy Inc	primary	47.28 Bn	21.19	3.23	41.97 Bn
4	WEC	Wec Energy Group, Inc.	primary	34.52 Bn	20.41	4.51	23.08 Bn
5	AEE	Ameren Corp	primary	29.47 Bn	18.86	3.37	21.81 Bn
6	FE	Firstenergy Corp	primary	27.06 Bn	20.32	1.71	29.85 Bn
7	HRNNF	Hydro One Ltd	primary	22.94 Bn	22.36	2.46	14.48 Bn
8	EIX	Edison International	primary	21.84 Bn	6.15	1.10	46.20 Bn

Idacorp IDA

About

Investment Thesis

Segments Breakdown of Revenue (2017)

Peer Comparison

Create an account

Sign In

Reset Password